Crying Sky's and Falling moons
by the-off-switch
Summary: Danger of an unknown sort lurks within the Soul Society. Izumeki, a young shinigami in squad 7, must overcome obstacles no normal person should have to go through. Rated M for Gore, language, and possible smut.
1. Chapter 1

Well, here you go. the first chapter of my revised story. Hope you enjoy!

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The rain poured down, sending splatters of little droplets which fall to the ground in massive amounts as it collided with the cold hard ground. The salty water littered the ground with a shiny wetness that made it seem so sad and so vulnerable. Never before had the ground in the soul society been saturated in such a way, but it was accepted as a natural occurrence, though it had unsettled many of the residents. Still, it was very beautiful, a sick kind of beautiful that only the open minded could see.

If you looked hard enough, you would be able to see someone sleeping in the grass nearby. Only he wasn't sleeping, rather, he was staring up at the cold gray sky, condemning it silently for the pain it caused, yet praising it for the consolation it provided. It fell continually onto his tattooed face, drenching his long crimson hair. His face was blank, concealing all the emotion he felt inside. Dispelling it from existence, from what you were able to see from his face. Really, he was crying, murdering himself from the inside. The day held many secrets, many dark happenings that tortured him in ways that were so unknown that the soul society decided that they didn't even exist. They did, however, and his feelings were entirely real.

As he lay there, he never realized the danger that lurked in the darkness of the night. He didn't realize there was a large figure eyeing his every movement, his every breath, shift and blink. The intruder meant no threat, but he was there for a purpose. He moved closer, trying to get a better look. He saw nothing more than the man just staring, perfectly oblivious to the mysterious stranger in the dark. The stranger contemplated attacking him now, getting it over with, but that would defy the purpose of why he was there, which was only to observe The man backed off, slouching back into the darkness, slinking away.

The man on the grass turned his head to the side, the same side the stranger just left. He suspected he heard a small rustle, a scamper maybe. He stared intently for a moment, before finally sitting up, leaning his arm on his bent knee. Again, he stared off into space, but this time he thought about more realistic things. Not that what he was thinking about earlier wasn't realistic. However, he was thinking more about how he knew he could get sick from sitting out here in the falling rain. The plitter platter still falling down hard like God was attacking with a condensed version of the ocean, falling from the sky which was caused by the gravitational pull of the earth.

The man stood up, beginning to feel drowsy. Simply, he walked off, heading in the direction of home, ready for sleep. But somehow he knew sleep would not come easily, too much was on his mind. He tried anyway, failing as surely as the sun rises in the morning. He lay in bed, not dreaming nor sleeping, until the sun rose.

Casting it's morning rays across the man's tattooed face, seemingly bright and happy, all the man could think about was that night… he could never stop and it replayed over and over again like a broken record, never stopping, not even to give his mind a rest. Still, He got up, not bothering to change out of his white and pink floral sleeping kimono, walking to god only knows where. He walked and walked, not knowing where he wanted to go, or where his destination was. Many people shouted out to him, but he wanted to talk to none of them, ignoring them completely. However, there was one voice that snapped him out of his reverie.

"Renji!" The voice came from a young woman, physically, hanging out of her window. Her long platinum blonde hair flying lightly in the wind, as if it were a leaf being carried to its homeland by a strong wind. The man, Renji, looked up blandly, no feeling in his face. He still wished to keep walking, but stopped. At least it wasn't her….

"Yeah?" It was the first time he has spoken in a while. It sounded raspy and deep, not exactly his usual voice.

The woman picked up on it easily. "Are you ok? You seem depressed…. "She paused, examining him for a while, her eyes skeptical. When Renji failed to reply, staring at her like he didn't quite get what she was saying, she continued "You should come inside, I know exactly what you need," She pulled herself back into the window, shutting it before he could make any kind of protest.

Renji hesitated a second, not knowing exactly what she meant, but instead of questioning it, he walked up to her door, and walked right in without knocking. The woman was already at the door, as if she were waiting, her hands on her hips. It was only then did he remember who she was. Izumeki Miboru, a long term friend and ally. He felt bad for not remembering on the spot, but he still was overcome with the feelings of what happened last night to even care.

Izumeki gestured for him to sit down on the recliner in the corner. It was hard to walk in her house. Book cases lined every wall in her home, all of them filled with books of all different kinds. Most of which she probably read considering how smart she was. Amidst all of the books, shelves, cabinets and chairs; there was no bed. This was highly unusual. Though there was a couch padded with pillows, there were no blankets, not anything that would be comfortable enough to sleep on, though the couch was considerable if you had nowhere else to sleep.

"Wait here, I'll make some tea and hot chocolate." She smiled briefly before flittering off to the kitchen or stove rather, to heat up some milk before he could say anything. He sat, trying to get comfortable, and it was only a few minutes before the milk boiled and she spooned it into two cups, making milk tea and hot cocoa. She walked over, carrying them both and setting the cocoa before Renji and settling down on the couch. She waited for him to take a sip before speaking. "As I said before, you look miserable… What's wrong?"

Renji stared into his cocoa. It was a delicious blend of creamy milk and real chocolate melted with butter, all with whipped cream on top. Even the smell of it was heavenly. It still wasn't enough to snap him out his depression, however close it was. "A lot… "

"That's very vague…" She didn't push him, but it was visible that she was put out that he wouldn't say anything.

"I saw something I didn't want to see…. And it nearly killed me inside…" He glared, but the target of the evil look was unclear. "I don't really want to go over the details…"

"Whatever it was…It doesn't seem like something any body needs to see." Izumeki took a thoughtful sip of her warm milk tea. Even that smelled really good. The aroma's surrounding her house made him feel so relaxed, and the atmosphere even added to the mood. Slowly, he felt himself slipping out of his depressed state, becoming more comfortable to talk.

"No… Have I told you the story? About me and Rukia?" Renji and Rukia grew up in the 78th Rukongai, Izuri, together with several other children. Renji went on to tell her everything, starting with that small bit of information, stretching to what he saw the previous day. Every detail threw another haystack in the fire of his soul. It burned and tore him up on the inside so badly, he could hardly stand it, but he pressed on determined to get every inch of every detail out, just so someone didn't have to just stare at the shell had put up around himself to protect him from ever being hurt. Even that miserably backfired.

Izumeki sat there, not saying anything, through his whole story. She nodded, let out a small gasp, winced and gathered all the information that was set out for her to absorb. She actually listened. This woman, Izumeki, gazed at Renji, her bi-colored eyes filled with a simple emotion of amazement. There were questions in her eyes that she was too polite to ask, questions that probably induced thought and had no right or wrong answers.

Renji caught himself staring right back into her eyes, each of them transfixed in their own thoughts. Izumeki's eyes just by themselves pushed one to think, once you got passed the fact that one was as blue as the ocean and the other a bright happy green. When you got passed that, you would see how thoughtful she was. It seemed as though all her emotions were in her eyes, but never showed on her face. They were captivating in such a way that it is so impossible to describe.

A knock on Izumeki's door startled them both out of there thoughtful silence. She gave an apologetic look towards Renji, and stood up to answer the door. Renji had no idea who it could be, as he never kept up with who Izumeki associated with. The voices at the door, the laughter, suggested that it was a girl. They way in which they talked as well suggested that they were long term friends. Izumeki invited the woman inside, and as she appeared Izumeki was smiling and laughing. The friend assumption was confirmed.

The female who walked in was only an inch shorter than Izumeki, making her about 5'5". The other differences stood out significantly, her long black hair to Izumeki's long platinum, almost white, blond hair. The woman also had large bright blue eyes that stood out against her dark hair. Renji remembered her from when the ryoka had invaded and she was the first to switch sides to Ichigo's cause. Her name had slipped her mind then, and it continued to at that moment.

"oh hey!" The dark haired woman was referring to Renji, "Renji's here?" Her question sounded like an inquiry. Not even striking for a question.

"Er… yeah. We were talking." Izumeki replied "This is Kibichi, by the way" So that was her name. Renji made note of it in his temporal lobe.

"Mmkay" Renji Replied back, standing up. "I gotta leave anyway." He sneezed, rubbing his nose. "Talk to Captain Unohana."

Izumeki nodded, smiling. "All right, see ya later."

Renji walked out of the house, feeling a little better about himself. He wanted to talk to her a bit more, about more normal things, but that could wait. He had more important things to do.

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First off, the Character Kibichi Yamada is a tribute to a friend. Thanks for getting me into Bleach! :D Thank you for reading and i hope you liked it. Please review and rate as it helps me write chapters. Danke.


	2. Chapter 2

Teh he~ Chapter two. ^^ Hope it's at least pretty good. It's a bit shorter, but not that terrible. haha anyway enjoy~~

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Kibichi continued to badger Izumeki about what Renji and her were talking about alone. "so what were you talking about that you just don't want to talk about?" She continued. Izumeki rolled her eyes and continued to organize one of the book shelves. "It can't be so important that you want to keep it a secret."

"It's not really a secret, but it would be rude to spread it like a rumor. Don't you think?" Izumeki cocked her head to the left, looking at the author's last name of one of the books, deciding on where to put the heavy book in her hand.

"I guess, but I still want to know what you guys were talking about." Kibichi retorted.

"Well… I don't really think it could hurt anybody. But promise you won't say anything."

"Promise!" Kibichi leaned on a desk, getting closer so she could hear better.

"He basically just looked really upset, so I asked him what was wrong. He Just went on and on about his past… He said he had practically fallen in love with Rukia." Izumeki stopped. Admitting the words herself felt like jabbing a sword through her heart. Izumeki set down the book.

"Really?" Kibichi looked shocked. "I'm so sorry!"

She shook her head. Izumeki was stronger than that. She may like him, but she was fine with letting him go, no matter how much she really liked him. "No, it's fine. He said he wanted to give up on her. He saw her and Ichigo together. Not like _that, _but close enough." She set the book on the shelf, placing it between two novels.

"Sound's intense." Kibichi backed away from her position on the desk, to a more comfortable one on the couch. "Did he say anything else?"

Izumeki shook her head, her hair swishing back and forth, "No. That's about when you knocked on the door."

Something caught her eye at that moment. It was a book, not one of hers. Why didn't she notice it before? She pointed to it, "Is this yours?"

Kibichi looked at it, taking on a slightly confused look. "No… I haven't seen that book before. What's the title?"

Izumeki took it down, flipping it over in her hand. It wasn't very thick, only about half an inch, leather binding and the spine read the title in gold letterings, "Flowers and Their Meanings" She opened it, reading the intro. "This is very strange"

"It is." Kibichi launched herself from the couch, strutting over to look over Izumeki's shoulder. "It's not where you would have put it either."

Izumeki frowned, "No, it's not." She looked over the pictures of the different types of flowers in the book, reading only some of them. "A bouquet of full bloom roses means gratitude, but a single one means 'I love you'?"

"I guess." She looked at the clock, "I gotta go. Hana's expecting me home."

"Mmkay. See ya later" Izumeki smiled at Kibichi, setting the book down. "Tell Hana I say hi! "

"kaykay" Kibichi turned and left, walking out the door with a small wave.

As soon as Kibichi was gone, Izumeki picked up the flower book again and, with a sense of foreboding, looked it over again. Each flower had its own picture taking up half of the page and a description of the flower. Each flower was very majestic and beautiful in its own way, but one flower caught her eye. Someone had circled the picture and description of the red carnation with a thick black marker. Izumeki eyed the beautiful flower, and its red petals and the way they opened up to look like a fuzzy red ball. Slowly, Izumeki began to read the meaning of the flower. "Admiration, my heart aches for you…" She looked at it again, "Why would this be circled?" Closing the book with a thunk, she got up, setting the book down on the table. Hoping to get her mind off of the book and her conversation with Renji, she made another cup of tea. This time, she made a large cup of green tea, grabs a book and settles down on her sofa to have a nice read.

Feeling better and refreshed, Renji felt it was appropriate to thank Izumeki somehow. He thought flowers would be nice, but a little too gushy for his tastes. Izumeki might appreciate it a lot, but would she think f him any less? He didn't really want to risk that. She might be the key to getting over Rukia, finally. Still, he stood at the flower shop gazing at some of the flowers, wondering which would be the best to say "Thank you!"

"If you're trying to get a bouquet for Izumeki, go for the red roses" Renji turned, not expecting anyone to know what he was doing. It was Kibichi, standing with her arms crossed eyeing Renji with skeptical eyes.

"Don't red roses mean love? I only want thanks."

"Not a bouquet." She smiled, though it was a bit like a smirk. "a single full bloom rose is saying 'I love you' a bouquet says 'hey, thanks!'. It's in a book Izumeki found." She explained.

Renji looked back at the flowers, wondering if he really should get the roses "Thanks. Are you sure?" He picked up a bouquet, looking for the price.

"I'm so sure I'm deodorant." Renji gave her a quizzical look. "Just get it."

"Sure sure." Renji sounded irritated, and he was. Who was this girl to push him to do something? But he knew she was right. He bought the bouquet, writing a simple message on a card saying "thank you for listening when you could have turned me away" and set off, Kibichi staying behind, looking at other flowers.

Now that he bought them, he was unsure that he actually wanted to give them to her. He walked down the street, bouquet in hand, back to Izumeki's house. He didn't want to talk to her, but just leave the bouquet there and go home. So that's just precisely what he did.

Quietly, Renji walked up to Izumeki's door and positioned the bouquet as perfectly as possible and knocked on the door, taking off as fast as he could. Renji hid, hoping he wouldn't be seen by her. He watched as she opened the door, looking around. He chanted to himself, "look down, look down, look down…" as she looked. She finally did, smiling at the roses, and reading the card. It only took her a second to read the card, but she looked at it like she was confused. But despite that, she smiled again, looking around to see if she can spot him. For a split second, Renji thought she spotted him, but she walked back inside, taking the roses with her. Renji felt an odd relief sweep over him, like he finally could breathe, but why, and from what? Who knows?

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Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! btw... Please review, and rate and such. I really appreciate it. haha


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